


integration

by lionsenpai



Series: at the intersection of ideals and impulse [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5931043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionsenpai/pseuds/lionsenpai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After disappearing without a word, Cinder finally calls to be picked up - from Beacon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	integration

**Author's Note:**

> khayr, KIBITZER, and i continue to dig ourselves deeper into glynderpin hell. :')

“It’s been  _ two weeks _ .”

Cinder slid into the car with nary a hint of remorse, her lipstick flawless, glass heels clicking together as she found her seat. There was an unmistakable air of composure to her, so much so that Emerald had to glance out the window to ensure that they were really picking her up from Beacon. 

Mercury glanced at her from the driver’s seat, and Emerald returned a hopeless shrug.

From the backseat, Cinder closed the door and then buckled into the center seat. “Oh? I must have lost track of time. You’ve both kept yourselves busy, I trust.” 

“We’ve been bored out of our minds,” Mercury answered, not without a line of annoyance, the engine revving as he pulled away.

“ _ Mercury’s _ been bored out of his mind.” 

Which meant alternating between fiddling with the scrap parts of Atlesian guardians and never offering Emerald a chance at peace. Often times, he’d do both, sending pet projects to her which exploded with the help of pinched amounts of Dust. 

After the third one had startled her as she stepped out of the shower, she’d convinced him he was sending one into her bed and then waited until night to hear his shout of surprise when it blew by his feet. 

Letting her tone dare towards annoyed, Emerald continued, “ _ I’ve _ been trying to call you.”

“You left messages,” Cinder agreed. “I’ve been too busy to get back to you.”

Emerald twisted in her seat, leaning on the center console. “Yeah, about that. Maiden stuff, or - ”

She stopped short, catching a whiff of something unusual in the air. One dark brow raised as Cinder watched her open her mouth instinctively, drawing the air into the receptors on the roof of her mouth.

Tilting his head, Mercury gave a snort. “What, no tongue flicking?”

Her elbow found the soft spot just below his ribs, sticking her tongue out just to make a point. “ _ Can it _ .”

Cinder leaned farther back in her seat, gathering all her hair over one shoulder with a sweep of polished nails through inky black hair. “Yes, it’s wonderful to see both of you, too.”

The movement sent a cascade of scents Emerald’s way, one of which she picked out among the others. “Is that -  _ quiche _ ?”

From the driver’s seat, Mercury gave a harsh guffaw. “What?”

Cinder only shifted in her seat, folding her hands in her lap, her mouth twitching into the shadow of a smile. “Mushroom and asparagus. Ozpin is quite the accomplished cook.”

“ _ Ozpin _ ?”

It left both their mouths at the same time, and Cinder only smiled wider, teeth flashing from behind red lips. “Mercury, darling, keep your eyes on the road.”

Beside her, Mercury whipped his head back around, swerving with a curse as he pulled the car back into his lane, but Emerald couldn’t look away, waiting for the peel of Cinder’s heckling laughter, her admission of some attempt at a joke. Instead, gold eyes meet hers evenly, the same as when she’d so confidently said they’d be stealing the immeasurable power of a Maiden with nothing but the three of them and a special glove. 

“You stole from  _ Ozpin _ ?  _ Quiche _ ?” Mercury glanced over his shoulder quickly, gaze snapping back to the road. “What about Amber?”

“You thought I was there for Amber?” 

Emerald stared. “You  _ weren’t _ ?”

A shrug. “I was pursuing other avenues.”

Slowly turning around in her seat, Emerald’s mouth tightened into a thin line, her eyes set straight ahead. Mercury’s look didn’t go unnoticed, but Emerald didn’t respond, tipping her head back against the headrest and covering her eyes with her hand. 

“Other avenues,” she breathed. “Like having quiche with Ozpin?”

From the backseat, there was a hum, far from contrite and perhaps just a bit too amused. “And Glynda.”

“ _ What? _ ” Mercury hit the brakes, the whole car shuddering to a stop. Emerald wheezed as her seatbelt bit into her chest, just barely keeping her from flying through the windshield. “Cinder, what were you - ”

Behind them, the sharp honk of a following car cut him off, and cursing once more, Mercury turned back to the road and gunned the accelerator. 

“Mercury,” Emerald mouthed, pinching the fabric of his sleeve, not even trying to steal a look at Cinder in the rearview mirror. “Shut. Up.”

In the years between when Cinder had found Emerald and when they’d found Mercury, she’d become well-accustomed to nights when Cinder would make her dinner, pack her into bed, and then disappear, only to return before she was awake for breakfast. Cinder’s  _ other avenues _ had lasted but a night while Emerald was still young, but even the longer trysts which marked her adolescence had never lasted  _ two weeks _ .

Her thoughts drifted to Ozpin, and the shudder which ran through her was full-body. That mental image would haunt her every time she closed her eyes for a month, never mind what it would all look like with Glynda Goodwitch mixed in as well. 

Emerald blanched, trying to scrub her mind of the notion only to have it return full-force, some writhing clump of old and limbs that was positively eldritch in nature.

“Please, Cinder,” she murmured, feeling her stomach churn with nausea. “Tell me you didn’t. You’ve got some kind of plan, right.”

No reply came immediately, and in the interim, Emerald found her gaze drawn to the rearview, horror sinking into her gut when she saw the scroll in her hands. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger absently, strands of silver among the pitch, her lips quirked in a half-smile. 

Eyes flickering up to met Emerald’s in the mirror, Cinder said, “Of course.”

Her exhale came full of relief, and next to her, Mercury groused, “ _ Finally _ . What’s the plan?”

“Lunch at two. You’re both invited, of course.”

Emerald was gonna hurl.

 


End file.
